Uncommon Care
by Kalira69
Summary: Haku swims in and out of muddied, pained unconsciousness, sure only that the one steady pillar of his life is still - always - there, and even tending to him.


Written for Naruto Rare Pair Bingo 2019, for the spaces 'shackfic/cavefic' on Board A, & 'injured' on Board B.

* * *

Haku whimpered, the world slightly foggy around him save for the burning pain eating through his every limb. He could feel something soft and giving beneath him, and the slight chill in the air - every breath of the cool air was welcome, against the hot ache - but couldn't quite seem to open his eyes.

"Rest."

The low growl caught Haku's attention through the fog and the pain and he took a careful breath, tension easing, though he still shuddered from time to time with pain. A callused hand smoothed over his brow, gently tilting his head, and Haku's lips parted around a soft keen.

"Just rest, Haku." Zabuza ordered again, and Haku took another careful, shallow breath and let it out, letting the exhaustion tugging at his bones drag him down.

When next he woke the pain was a little duller, and he opened his eyes, but things were still foggy and unclear, and he couldn't remember either where he was or what had happened. He tried to move without thinking and choked on a gasp of pain. Hardly a heartbeat later Zabuza - it must be - was leaning close over him, and a gentle touch brushed a damp cloth over his brow.

He closed his eyes, not quite able to make out even Zabuza's beloved voice over the roaring, throbbing sounds in his ears. Words blurred into incomprehension and the sound itself barely registered. The pain ebbed slightly as big hands moved him and his arms tingled all the way down to his fingertips.

A flash of anxiety and he tried to flex his fingers - it hurt, but he was almost sure they had moved as they should - and then Zabuza caught Haku's hands in his and stilled them. "You're recovering. Don't try to move so much." he ordered, and Haku could do nothing but comply, drinking from the cup Zabuza brought to his lips and then fading back into hazy sleep before he was even lying flat again.

He had no idea how many times he had half-woken, confused and uncertain, only for Zabuza's voice and hands and constant presence to be there to soothe him back to the cool blackness of sleep, before he finally woke with an almost-clear mind. Haku tentatively shifted, lifting his head, and found Zabuza resting at his side on the bed, clearly asleep.

Kubikiribouchou was propped against the wall at Zabuza's back, just beyond the bed, a familiar and comforting shadow.

Haku lay still for long minutes, head tipped to one side and gaze lingering on Zabuza's slack face, resting. Then he gathered himself and began to move again, slowly easing upwards, clenching his jaw against the pain both of using his arms again and of bending his body. It was much less than it had been, though Haku could see only swathes of clean, white, slightly sloppy bandages wrapping around most of his body under the light blanket and his open kimono.

Bandages Zabuza must have wrapped and . . . likely changed himself. Seemingly often. Zabuza who Haku often had to argue and wheedle into allowing his own injuries to be bandaged.

Haku ran a light hand over his own side, afraid to press and thinking it likely best he not disturb the bandages to look for himself, at least just yet.

"Did I hurt you?"

Haku twitched, not having realised that Zabuza had been waking, and looked down at him.

Zabuza pushed himself up on one arm, seating himself in an oddly contained posture nearby. "I don't know nearly as much about this as you do." he said gruffly, ducking his chin for a moment. "And I had to stay close. You kept . . . thrashing, at first," he rested a hand on Haku's thigh, "and there isn't anywhere else to sleep in this hole anyway."

"You haven't hurt me." Haku assured Zabuza, smiling. Zabuza never had. Not as a child, not as a stripling student, and not now as a man, still treated in many ways with the same odd gentleness Zabuza had always had for him. In different lights, perhaps.

Then Haku looked around, paying more mind to his actual surroundings than he'd bothered to before, and found they were in a somewhat worn little . . . cabin, he supposed, the ramshackle walls close on all sides. He returned his attention to Zabuza when he felt a light touch to his wrist, and surrendered his hand as Zabuza pulled, not-quite-rough, at the bandages there. "What. . . What happened?" he asked, frowning.

Zabuza stilled, raising his head and still wearing a tightly focused expression. "You don't remember?" he asked, and Haku slowly shook his head.

Zabuza's broad shoulders bowed a little. "You were about to form your makyou hyoushou, but before you could that _bitch_ came out of nowhere and called up a firestorm. Your hyouton wasn't enough to protect you when it was already on you." he said, his voice flat and angry, eyes narrowed. "I pulled you out of it and ran; took out the katon bitch and two of the others, lost the rest, and holed us up here."

"Zabuza-san. . ." Haku began to offer thanks, then choked as he remembered the fiery tendrils coiling around him even as he called up his ice. "_Oh._"

"Haku?" Zabuza's hands tightened around his own, and Haku bit his lip, shaking his head.

"I'm all right. I remember now." he said softly, sliding his fingers between Zabuza's. "I thank you for saving me, Zabuza-san," he added, looking up through his lashes, "I am sorry I-"

He was cut off by an abrupt scoff, and tipped his head up a little more. "Don't be sorry." Zabuza said sharply, and gave a light tug to Haku's hands, just enough to make him begin to move, then wince. "You wouldn't run, even then, not until I made you," he scowled, tugging Haku closer more bodily, taking his weight, "it is not your fault."

Haku took a breath, then . . . gave over and bent his head, leaning tentatively into Zabuza's support, testing to find the best angle not to aggravate his burns. "Thank you." he said again, close to Zabuza's neck.

"You're mine," Zabuza said gruffly, curling an arm around him and resting his mouth against Haku's brow, "it's no one's place to break you . . . and mine to save you. Keep you."

Haku curled up a little tighter, a few patches of his burns protesting with a dull aching sting, and leaned into Zabuza more firmly. He wrapped one careful arm around Haku's back as he settled again, the other stroking one of the locks of his hair still falling free.

"Rest." Zabuza said after simply holding him for a few minutes. "You aren't healed yet."

He didn't move to push Haku away or nudge him to lie down again.

"Yes, Zabuza-san." Haku said, lips pulling into a smile. Zabuza kissed his brow and he closed his eyes, sinking into Zabuza's protective embrace and trusting his support.


End file.
